HSINCHU (Taiwan News) — Lakeshore Hotel has launched Man Yue Lou, a high-end dining brand marking a major career shift for Chef Tsai Jui-lang (蔡瑞郎).
The chef, who led Taipei’s Michelin-starred Mountain and Sea House for 17 years, has moved his focus to Hsinchu to spearhead what he calls a "Hakka cultural renaissance."
The restaurant is the result of Taiwan’s first major industry-academia collaboration between a culinary brand and the College of Hakka Studies at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Through historical research and field analysis, the team reconstructed the hospitality traditions of the Chiang A-hsin family of Beipu, who hosted international guests during the 1950s.
"While Taiwanese cuisine emphasizes intricate knife work, Hakka cuisine is defined by its preserved ingredients — a gamble with time," Tsai said. He aims to shatter the stereotype of Hakka food as "salty and oily" by elevating it into a refined banquet experience.
The flagship "Chiang Family Gold Tea Banquet" begins with Oriental Beauty tea, brewed with soft water to precisely release its honeyed sweetness.
A highlight of the menu is the cabbage and four spirits thick soup, which uses stewed lotus seeds, barley, and Chinese yam to create a velvety texture. The dish reimagines a traditional recipe remembered by Chiang family descendants, hiding the cabbage from view while retaining its sweetness.
Visual artistry is showcased in the goldfish crystal dumpling, which uses natural pigments to create a translucent fish-shaped skin filled with flying fish roe.
For the signature ancient charcoal roasted goose in two ways, Tsai utilizes local flora like pandanus and cinnamon rather than imported spices. The first course features crispy goose skin wrapped in a fermented mustard green crepe, while the second presents goose breast tossed with Beipu dried persimmons.
Other featured dishes include roasted fish with sour orange leaves, utilizing salt koji and citrus acidity, and wild mullet roe fried rice, featuring organic fragrant rice.
In a commitment to social responsibility, a portion of the proceeds from every Chiang Family Gold Tea Banquet is donated to the Chiang A-hsin Education Foundation to support regional education and cultural promotion.
"Chiang Family Gold Tea Banquet." (Taiwan News, Lyla Liu video)
